Negative Space
by ethicsforsale
Summary: AU. In her junior year of college, Chikane decides to take a studio art class. But did she really sign up to learn how to draw, or does a certain blonde TA have something to do with it?


Disclaimer/Warning/Etc.: Kannazuki no Miko and Kyoshiro to Tora no Sora are not mine. Go away if you wish to sue, and go far, far away if you do not like lesbians. Otherwise, enjoy. And leave some feedback while you're at it. :P

Chapter One

_What you see is what you draw. What you see is what you draw. What you see is_ - oh screw it. This just wasn't working.

Chikane could deal with physically strenuous activities and academically, she was no slouch. If anything, the golden child of the Himemiyas was famous for excelling at just about everything she did. But as of yet, the art of the still life danced beyond the reach of her ever hesitant pencil-tip. Oh, she didn't expect to create masterpieces straight away; she was, after all, only a week into her first drawing class at Ototachibana Arts Institute. But this... this was just embarrassing.

She peered at the sketchbook of the freshman sitting next to her, and silently puffed out a breath as he seemed to effortlessly capture the details of the composition. She looked back at her own drawing, and kneaded her eraser as she compared the set-up in the middle of the room to the mess of a piece on the page.

_What you see is what you draw_, the sensei said.

Really, she must have been mocking her.

Because what she was looking at was most certainly one basket with an apple, an orange and a pineapple inside, and another apple outside. And she most certainly knew how to draw every one of the aforementioned objects.

Why, then, did her still life look like crap?

The music major gingerly rubbed her eraser over the deformed-looking pineapple, and moued her lips in a rare pout as it left a faint, ugly-looking smudge.

Not for the first time, she wondered if taking this class was really such a good idea.

"Very good start, Tanaka-san," came a soft voice off to the side as the TA leaned over the shoulder of the boy sitting next to her, her long, golden hair framing her face like beautiful silk curtains as she continued to give him advice. Chikane couldn't help but sneak a glance from the corner of her eye, and barely repressed the shy smile that threatened to appear.

Of course. How could she not take the class that has _her_ as a TA? Chikane was ahead of the curriculum and had time for an extra class this semester. For an entire fall, she'd pondered what to take. It was a single conversation in a stairwell that made up her mind for her.

_Piano rehearsal ran longer than expected. The recital was only two days away, and Ando-sensei wanted the performance to be absolutely perfect. Technically, it was a concert given by the entire department, but half the audience would be there to see her. She was the finale. She was the star. And as she thought of the entire auditorium filled with people watching her play, she couldn't help but feel a surge of-_

_Adrenaline. But not nervousness. Never nervousness._

_Himemiya Chikane approached her concerts very much the same way she approached her tennis matches. There was only her, and the ball, and a victory for her to claim, and indeed, victory was always hers._

_The blue-haired girl entered the dormitory and took the stairs up to her hall on the third floor. Faint sounds of a conversation drifted down from further up the stairwell, accompanied by a subtle whiff of cigarette smoke._

_"I'm not sure if I like classical music, Mako-chan." Chikane stopped mid-step and craned her neck. The blue haired beauty knew it was rude to eavesdrop, but she recognized that voice and couldn't quite help but stop and listen. It was one of the fine arts majors, Kurusugawa Himeko. She'd taken pictures at one of the tennis team meets as part of her final project last semester, and Chikane had never since been able to get her out of her mind._

_"Come on." the smoker implored, "do this for me."_

_"Why? You're not even part of the concert."_

_"But Oogami-kun is playing, sooo I kind of have to be there."_

_"Be there then. I'm not stopping you am I?"_

_"Hi-me-ko... you do want me to take Drawing 102 next semester, yes?"_

_"Oh that's not fair and you know it. I'm actually TAing that class so it's not the same as-"_

_"Hi. Me. Ko. You _do_ want me to take Drawing 102 next semester, _yes_?"_

_"Mako-chan, you're mean."_

_"Does that mean you're coming?" Chikane found herself holding her breath as she awaited her response. She'd never spoken to Himeko even once, but for some reason, she really wanted the young artist to see her play._

_Three or four flights of stairs above her, Himeko sighed. "Yeah, I'll be there." Chikane grinned, and silently walked the rest of the way to her room._

And now here she was in Drawing 102, fixing her ice-cold stare on an uncooperative pineapple in an epic battle of wills that the pineapple was surely winning. Himeko had just finished talking with Tanaka and was now stepping over to where Chikane sat. The dark-haired girl tried hard to focus on her drawing as the TA hovered over her. Tried not to think about how silly her drawing looked, or how her face felt warmer the more she told herself not to blush. A tendril of soft, blonde hair brushed against her cheek as Himeko leaned over to try and see her perspective, and oh god, she could smell her conditioner.

"Not bad, Himemiya-san," Himeko said, inches away from her ear. "Your composition has good balance." It was the first time the blonde had talked to her directly, and Chikane felt a pleasant shiver as the syllables of her surname floated out from between those smooth, pink lips. She couldn't help but wonder what her first name would sound like.

"Thank you," she said, recovering enough from her thoughts to keep her voice calm and even.

The blonde observed her for a moment as she continued to work. Chikane felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Let's try something." Himeko leaned in close and held her pencil out toward the fruits. "You see how the top of the orange meets the side of the pineapple at around an eighty-degree angle, and about a third of the way up the length of the pineapple?" The dark-haired girl followed the direction of her pencil.

"Yes."

"That's the kind of detail you should focus on. Instead of drawing an orange and a pineapple, what you're really drawing is a collection of lines, curves and angles, put together to form an image of familiar objects."

Chikane pondered this silently as she looked at the fruits, then back at her sketchbook. She understood Himeko's words, but she didn't really know where to start. This whole still-life drawing stint was just completely out of her element...

"Uhm, would you.. mind if I show you?" Himeko asked with an endearing note of hesitance in her voice.

"Of course not," Chikane smiled, holding her sketchbook slightly to the side to give the TA better access. "Please." To her surprise, the blonde gently clasped her right hand with her own and guided her pencil over the page. Her touch was soft and warm as a light, smooth line redefined the position of the orange. Goosebumps skittered over Chikane's skin as she repressed the urge to caress Himeko's fingers. But before she could dwell on the sensation for too long, the touch was gone, and the dark-haired girl had missed everything that the blonde had just said.

"And a third of the way up the pineapple would be... there," Himeko finished. "Doesn't that look better?"

"It does," the dark-haired girl replied truthfully. "Thank you." Chikane turned her head slightly to look at the TA, who'd already put some distance between them. Was that a blush on her face?

"Anytime..." the blonde gave her a shy but heartfelt smile and a slightly awkward bow of her head before moving on to the next student. The blue-haired beauty turned back to her still-life and hid her grin behind a dark curtain of hair.

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_ServantOfDarknes4: it couldn't hurt to ask her out for a cup of coffee, just so you could get to know her better... it doesn't even have to be a date_

Chikane stared thoughtfully at her laptop monitor for a few minutes before typing out a reply.

_Kaon1001: I've never spoken to her outside of class._

_ServantOfDarknes4: so?_

_Kaon1001: So it'd be strange. It'd be fine with anyone else, but from what I've seen, she's shy. Really shy. What if she takes it the wrong way and thinks I'm despicable?_

As she pressed the Enter key, the blue-haired girl couldn't help but smile at the irony of telling someone she'd never even seen about her personal problems. But in all honesty, talking to Dark about this seemed to be the most natural thing to do. She'd met the girl from Okinawa - or at least, they claimed to be a girl from Okinawa - three years ago on a forum for those questioning their sexuality. Having always been at the business end of the rumor mill, the Himemiya heiress was normally very reserved, but the anonymity of online chatrooms afforded her a rare sense of security, and Dark, in particular, never pried about her personal information. And so the two helped each other through a rather confusing period of their lives, and have kept in touch ever since.

Being in Student Council along with a ton of extracurricular activities in high school meant that Chikane didn't have much time to be online. But what little time she did have, she spent most of it talking to her friend. While venting didn't necessarily solve any of her problems, it did give her the calmness to approach them more rationally, and having someone who could relate lessened her usual sense of pessimism.

_ServantOfDarknes4: you're not despicable_

_ServantOfDarknes4: and if she thinks that just because you wanted to get coffee, then maybe she's the one who's strange_

Come to think of it, talking with Dark almost always made her optimistic. That ridiculous online handle was misleading, to say the least. She was the only person in her life who had this effect on her, and if she wanted to be perfectly honest with herself, Dark was her best friend. She smiled fondly as she typed out her next response.

_Kaon1001: It's not that simple, Dark._

_ServantOfDarknes4: hm...i guess it never is is it?_

_Kaon1001: She's... she's special. That's such an inadequate word, I know, but ever since the first time I saw her, there was no other way to describe her. Her smile lights up the room like the clearest sunrise, and whenever she looks at me, I feel hopelessly drawn in. I don't know her at all, but something tells me she's the gentlest person I know._

_ServantOfDarknes4: ..._

_ServantOfDarknes4: wooowwww_

_ServantOfDarknes4: she sounds like a real princess kaon-chan..._

_ServantOfDarknes4: even hearing you talk about her is making my heart pound_

Chikane couldn't help but chuckle. Dark was so adorable.

_Kaon1001: Point is, what she thinks of me matters, probably more than it should. I really want her to like me, and if she doesn't, I'm not sure what I'd do._

_ServantOfDarknes4: i don't think you need to worry about that_

_ServantOfDarknes4: you're one of the most likeable people i know_

_Kaon1001: Thanks, Dark._

_ServantOfDarknes4: ^_^_

_ServantOfDarknes4: anyway, you're... kind of not alone as far as the distant crush thing goes_

Chikane raised an eyebrow, and swallowed the vague pang of jealousy she suddenly felt in her stomach. It was silly, she knew, but every time Dark developed a crush, she couldn't help but want to keep the other girl all to herself. But Okinawa and Mahoroba wasn't exactly within regular commuting distance. Neither, for that matter, was Okinawa and Tokyo, her own alleged location. Furthermore, she didn't even know what Dark looked like. Not that appearance really mattered. But the danger of having an online girlfriend was that they could easily look like Jack Nicholson. Come to think of it, they could easily _be_ Jack Nicholson.

No... what she felt for Dark was probably a bit of best-friend-type jealousy. Whether that was a hundred percent true or not, Chikane was willing to leave it at that.

_Kaon1001: Oh?_

_ServantOfDarknes4: yeah..._

Chikane waited patiently for the other girl to continue.

_ServantOfDarknes4: well..._

_ServantOfDarknes4: how should i put this..._

The dark-haired girl smirked, and went down to the common room to fix herself a new cup of tea. Knowing Dark, it would take her a couple minutes of hemming and hawing to get the story out. Sure enough, when she got back to her room, the other girl was still typing.

_ServantOfDarknes4: hmm..._

_ServantOfDarknes4: okay, well..._

_ServantOfDarknes4: i haven't talked to her outside of class either..._

_ServantOfDarknes4: and unlike you, i don't think approaching her is even an option_

_ServantOfDarknes4: she's gorgeous, and talented, and noble, and kind, and basically good at just about anything she does_

_ServantOfDarknes4: and she's kind of famous_

_ServantOfDarknes4: everyone's had a crush on her at some point or another_

_ServantOfDarknes4: in other words, she's everything i'm not_

_ServantOfDarknes4: she's the star that everyone looks up to, and far, far out of my league_

_ServantOfDarknes4: i've liked her since last year, but that was different because she wasn't in any of my classes so i never had to see her regularly_

_ServantOfDarknes4: i guess i'm gonna have to just get over her..._

Chikane frowned. Dark never did seem to have a lot of self esteem. She knew that the other girl had been abused when she was little and supposed that a lot of her self-image issues went back to her troublesome childhood, but Dark was very sweet. She hoped that her friend would find someone that could really make her feel special, and what she was hearing about this new crush of hers kind of struck a chord.

_Kaon1001: She sounds lonely._

_ServantOfDarknes4: lonely?_

_Kaon1001: Beauty, talent, image, fame. All of that is superficial and overrated. If I had the choice of being constantly held up on a pedestal or having just one person like me for who I really am, I'd choose the latter in a heartbeat._

_ServantOfDarknes4: that's deep, kaon-chan_

The dark-haired girl felt a pang of sadness. _Personal experience_, she wanted to type, but decided against it. She didn't want to turn the conversation toward herself, not when Dark was sharing something so personal with her.

_Kaon1001: There's a huge distinction between being friendly and having friends. The higher up you are on the social ladder, the wider that distinction is._

_Kaon1001: If you really like her, talk to her. She could probably use a friend._

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Author's Note: I know I haven't updated Shadow to Light in awhile. I just wanted to get a few more ideas out of the way first. Also, I've been in a fluff mood recently. And judging from the rather obvious set-up, this will definitely be fluff, with maybe a healthy smattering of naughtiness later on. We'll see.


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